


Worth the Expense

by sagansjagger



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:05:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27320125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagansjagger/pseuds/sagansjagger
Summary: When Nathalie cuts off Adrien's access to the printer, he has to go out to Copy-Top to print his new Ladybug photos.What he doesn't expect is to run into one Marinette Dupain-Cheng.Wait, what are all these pictures she's printing?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 31
Kudos: 102





	Worth the Expense

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Missnoodles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missnoodles/gifts).



> This was a prompt fic for Noodles on the Miraculous Fanworks Discord Server anniversary giveaway! People submitted prompts and a group of writers spent time fulfilling them. I filled 7/5, haha!

“No,” Nathalie said tonelessly. “You cannot print photos on your printer.”

Adrien pouted up at her from his bed, furrowing his brow. “Why not, Nathalie?”

“Ink is expensive,” Nathalie said, her voice as flat as ever but her lips quirking. If Adrien didn’t know any better, he’d think she was making a joke at his expense.

Adrien’s pout morphed into a frown. “My dad is made of money. We have a private jet.” Adrien pursed his lips. “Could I possibly use his--”

“Out of the question.”

Adrien had uploaded photos of Ladybug from his baton to a USB stick and he was desperate to print them. He turned the kitten eyes on Nathalie in a last-ditch effort. “Please?”

“No. Do not ask again.”

Huffing, Adrien pulled his shoes on. If Nathalie wouldn’t let him have access to the printer--once Nathalie said no, that was _it_ \--then he’d just have to go out. He patted his jeans pocket to make sure his USB stick was still there. “Can I go out today? It’s Saturday.” 

“You have a modeling shoot this evening. Be in your room by 5pm.” Nathalie adjusted her glasses and left the room, probably to tell his father the man had a tooth cleaning or something equally inane.

After looking up a highly-rated print shop on his phone, Adrien strode into the hallway where the Gorilla waited, and stopped in front of him.

“Well, um, you see,” Adrien mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I kind of want to go to Copy-Top? In rue Cujas, in the 5th near the Sorbonne. Are you okay with driving me there?”

The Gorilla inclined his head subtly. Very subtly.

Adrien brightened. “Thanks!” He could hug the man, but that might be weird. The Gorilla didn’t seem like a huggy person, but Adrien just wanted a hug.

Stuffing that impulse, Adrien flowed down the stairs and out the door on cloud nine, his bodyguard trailing behind him as massive and solid as a brick wall.

Adrien entered the limo and buckled his seatbelt, bouncing in place. The photos he had taken of Ladybug were fanfreakingtastic, if he had to say so himself. He couldn’t _wait_ to see them printed in full color. 

As the Gorilla turned the car on and pulled the car through the front gate of the mansion, Adrien’s mind wandered. _Maybe I’ll make the one of her standing on the Eiffel Tower at sunset into a poster. The colors on that one are great. I could hang it on my ceiling!_

He sighed dreamily, taking his USB stick out of his pocket to turn it over and over in his hands. _My Lady sure is amazing._

Preoccupied with thoughts of his Lady, the drive zipped by for Adrien. Even before the Gorilla had fully parked, Adrien bounded out of the car and into the Copy-Top, tightly gripping his USB stick.

The teenaged clerk behind the counter had three piercings in her nose and green hair. Adrien thought she looked cool.

“Excuse me,” Adrien asked the clerk cheerfully. She swung her head away from her romance novel to look at him. “Where are the DIY print stations?”

“Over there, man,” the girl said, raising an index finger to point at a line of computers and printers.

Adrien blinked at her bright red nail polish. Her nails sported black spots. “A fellow Ladybug fan, I see!” he exclaimed happily. “Me, too.”

“Cool,” the girl said dully and turned back to her book.

Adrien bounced over to the stations, withdrawing his USB stick. He was shocked to find the class president futzing around with one of the computers, looking exasperated.

“Marinette!” Adrien called, making her jump as he pulled up beside her. “Hi!” 

“A-Adrien!” she gasped, trying to cover the computer screen with her body. Because she was drawing attention to it, Adrien noticed she was printing a grayscale photo of him. “W-What are you doing here?”

“Oh, um,” Adrien mumbled shyly, feeling his cheeks heat up. _Why am I embarrassed? My Lady is awesome!_ He held up the USB stick. “Just, you know. Printing photos.”

“Oh, of course you are!” Marinette practically shrieked, making Adrien wince. She let loose a spate of laughter that Adrien thought sounded incredibly fake. “Photos are the only reason to come to a print shop!”

Adrien glanced over the displays of business cards, canvas bags, and pamphlets. “Oh, uh, yeah.”

_Marinette seems so nervous. I wish I didn’t make her uncomfortable. Does she still hate me for the Grevin Wax Museum prank?_

He wiggled the mouse of the computer next to her, waking the screen. “So, um,” he started, unsure of where to go. “You don’t need to be nervous around me. I don’t bite.”

Marinette muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, “What if I want you to?”

“What?”

“What?”

Marinette’s cheeks glowed as red as a traffic light. Her gaze was fixed on her computer screen. She was doggedly not looking at him, so Adrien decided not to press.

He plugged the USB stick into the computer tower and cleared his throat. He didn’t know why he was clearing his throat, except that it seemed like the thing a boy should do in front of a girl whom he didn’t know where he stood with. 

But as soon as Ladybug appeared on his screen in all her star-bright glory, Adrien beamed.

She was sticking her tongue out at the camera and winking in a rare display of playfulness Chat had captured one evening before patrol. He thought her tongue was adorable.

Marinette gasped beside him. “Where did you get _that_?” She was pointing at the photo, her hand trembling and her face drained of color.

“Oh, um,” Adrien stammered, placing a hand over the screen to cover Ladybug’s face. “Internet?”

“I thought I’d seen all the photos of Ladybug on the internet,” Marinette murmured, her voice drenched with suspicion. She squinted at Adrien and then went back to her screen.

 _Is she a Ladybug fan, too?_ Adrien thought, furrowing his brow. _I didn’t know._

A picture of him appeared on her screen, festooned in hearts. Adrien steadily ignored that. 

Or, tried to. 

_Hearts?_ he thought, his own pounding. _Does she… Does she like me?_

He printed his playful photo of Ladybug and pulled up another, a back shot of her swinging her yo-yo at Mr. Pigeon on a rooftop, sending feathers flying.

“T-That’s… quite a shot.” Marinette was blinking beside him. “How did you get that angle?”

“Oh, uh.” Adrien coughed into his fist again. “I think Alya took it.”

“On a rooftop?”

Adrien bit the inside of his cheek. “She’s pretty dedicated.”

Marinette seemed content to leave him to make posters. He printed several more photos of Ladybug in action, some of which garnered more indignant squeaks and stammered questions, which he successfully evaded. Adrien patted himself on the back. 

He tried to ignore the multiple pictures of him Marinette was printing: a couple of the back of his head in school, taken without his knowledge; one him chatting with Nino, and a close-up shot of his laughing face decorated with more hearts.

 _She said she was a fan,_ Adrien thought, attempting to shrug off his curiosity. 

But then Marinette did something he couldn’t ignore. She mumbled under her breath, “I forgot about this one.”

Unable to help himself, Adrien glanced over her shoulder. There, rendered in 14.6 megapixels, was his face. Chat’s face.

He was sleeping, curled up in Ladybug’s lap. He looked completely at peace lying on her spotted thighs, high above Paris on the Eiffel Tower. There was no way Marinette could have taken that photo, unless... 

Adrien took Marinette’s shoulders in his hands and gently turned him her way. Her face was brightly flushed, and she couldn’t seem to meet his eye. “Marinette,” he murmured, his voice low and gravelly. “I need you to be honest with me.”

He waited until Marinette nodded stiffly, her fists clenched at her sides.

Adrien licked his lips and leaned towards her to whisper in her ear. “Is it you, My Lady?”

Marinette’s sharp intake of breath told Adrien everything he needed to know. Everything and nothing. Joy bubbled up past his lips in the form of a laugh. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet, swinging her around. 

He set her back down on her feet. “It’s you.” He cupped her cheeks, running his thumbs over her cheekbones. “It’s you.” 

“Chat.” Marinette sighed his name, curling his toes. She met his eyes, her own beautiful, bluebell ones shining up at him. “Are… Are you really him? I can’t believe it.”

“It’s me.” Adrien rubbed his nose on hers, making her pull back with a gasp and a blush. “Oh, my Lady, I wanted to know who you were so badly… I never expected to figure it out in a Copy-Top. And…”

Marinette’s shoulders sagged. “And you’re disappointed.”

“No!” Adrien objected immediately, his eyes wide. “No, not at all. You’re our everyday Ladybug, Marinette. You’re smart and resourceful and compassionate. You save the city everyday, sometimes by yourself. I think you’re fantastic.”

“Really?” The soft, almost broken way she said the word made Adrien want to cry.

“Really, really,” Adrien confirmed, kissing her cheek. “You’re amazing, Marinette. I’ve always thought so.”

“You’re amazing, too, Adrien,” Marinette burbled, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’re a wonderful partner. You’ve always come through when it matters. I couldn’t be Ladybug without you. I trust you from the bottom of my heart.”

Adrien smiled down at her. He was worth something to her. He was her partner. She trusted him.

Adrien couldn’t feel any better. This was it. This was the best moment of his life.

Then she said something that shocked him down to his core.

“Kiss me?”

So Adrien did.

**Author's Note:**

> Are you interested in reading or writing fanfiction? Are you looking for a community of like-minded and supportive people? Then join the [Miraculous Fanworks](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) Discord server! 
> 
> We are always welcoming new members, and would love to see you. We offer a variety of conversations, from fic discussions to writing support to fanfiction prompts. We even have monthly server-wide events and group writing projects! 
> 
> Come join today!


End file.
